U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 9, 2021

Joe Highsmith

Oakmont Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Man, heck of a round.

JOE HIGHSMITH: Thanks.

Q. Just talk me through the round. Was it seven birdies you had and one bogey?

JOE HIGHSMITH: Yeah, I played well. I got off to a solid start. I think I was 4-under through my first seven holes, and then I made kind of a stupid bogey on 17 and got a little upset, but kind of got right back into it and birdied 2 and 3 and 4, which were good birdies; 3 was playing really hard.

Yeah, everything felt good. Just overall solid round.

Q. Yeah, what was the course like? Had you seen this before the practice round?

JOE HIGHSMITH: No. Practice round was the first time I had seen it. It didn't really set up great for my eye. A lot of holes are a little bit funky and some of the fairways are really hard to hit, but it was nice to get out of here with a good round and head into Oakmont. I'm pretty pumped for that course.

Q. Yeah. More on tomorrow's round. Just what's your experience at Oakmont and thoughts going into this round in one of the best spots you can be?

JOE HIGHSMITH: Yeah, for sure. Yesterday was my first time playing it, so I still think it's probably my favorite course I ever played even though I've only seen it once. Just super demanding. Good shots get rewarded, and obviously you got to have a pretty good touch around the greens. I really enjoy fast greens where putting is extremely tough and demanding and all that.

I think it's going to be a really good test. We kind of joke that we call it a man's course. You can't fake your way around this place. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Q. Yeah, some of the players were talking about is this one of the toughest walking courses you've had?

JOE HIGHSMITH: Yeah.

Q. They say it's quite the walk.

JOE HIGHSMITH: For sure. I mean, 18 to 1, especially after making a bogey there, was pretty tough. Super hilly. I mean, we played Chamber's Bay for Pac Coast. It was kind of the same. Pretty hilly out there. This one probably more -- a lot of like side hills and all that. I'm glad it's over with, that's for sure.